The Lord Reigns

An honest look at the True North Strong and Free

Let’s talk about Canada for a second, shall we? Our country murders about 100,000 pre-born babies each year. Doctor-assisted murder is the 4th leading cause of death, and the percentage of these legalized suicides is growing each year. We legislate the sterilization, castration, genital mutilation, and breast removal of children. The Federal Government openly steals from us to fund a godless agenda. Bill C-4, which is law, declares the Bible to be mythological and punishes anyone who encourages normative sexual behaviour. Bill C-367 and Bill C-63, which are still being debated in Parliament, will criminalize Biblical truth and punish those who engage in what the State deems to be “hate crimes.” Christianity is declining in both the number of professing Christians and the number of Christian institutions. The open hatred of Christians is both protected and normal in our country. Our economy appears to be heading toward utter collapse. All of our institutions (health, education, media, business, etc.) have gone completely Woke. I would use words like chaos and calamity to describe our current cultural moment, and I believe I use them accurately.

Given all of this, it is easy and understandable for a person to become anxious, worried, and despairing. It is not surprising that many in our nation feel hopeless and helpless to do anything about or change our current situation. I empathize with those feelings, because I’ve felt them at various points over the last 4 years as well.

This is why we MUST ground ourselves upon the powerful and life-giving Word of God. We must lean into the Eternal Lord - the one True and Living God. In Him and upon His Word is the only place a person can find true and lasting comfort, peace, and joy.

A portrait of the King

Psalm 93 begins this way: “The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting” (Psalm 93:1-2).

The Lord reigns as King over the entire Universe. He is clothed in majesty, which is to say He is draped in power, beauty, and might. Unlike a petty tyrant that scratches and claws for power, or an impotent ruler that is unable to get anything done, the Lord is girded in strength, and He is ready to go to battle for His people. He has designed and created the world, and it is held together by His power. He has reigned upon His throne for all of eternity, without beginning or end. He has been King over all of creation, seen and unseen, reigning from and into infinity.

This picture of God is glorious and magnificent, and it should illicit in us wonder and worship, awe and praise. He is mighty and powerful. His hands hold the Universe together, planets and moons, stars and solar systems. The Psalmist wants us to see God for who He is in light of what he is about to write. “The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring” (Psalm 93:3).

The sense in the passage is a growing intensity of the floodwaters. As first they lift up and you see them in the distance. Then, as they draw closer, you begin to hear the waters. Finally, as they are right on top of you, the roaring of the floods not only shakes your very core, but also fills you with terror at the fact that these mighty waters will most certainly destroy you and everything and everyone around you. You are powerless to either stop or survive the floodwaters.

Real-life floods

It feels like we are living in that kind of country right now, mostly because we in fact are. Evil is growing and roaring, seeking to destroy all vestiges of Christianity in Canada, literally hell-bent on death and devastation. Christians have waves of legislation and policies that are climbing like a wall of water and will inevitably crash down upon us.

Life also feels like this sometimes, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s the loss of a job, or separation from family and friends because of deep conflict. It could be the loss of loved ones, such as the death of a child. It could be sickness or disease, such as an incurable and terminal cancer. When we are overcome with grief, despair, mourning, loss, pain, and suffering, it feels as if the waters are crashing upon us in all of their fury and might.

In those moments, and in our current cultural moment, we might say things like, “It’s too great for me to handle. It’s too powerful for me to overcome. It’s just too much for me. I don’t have anything left to give. I am at the end of myself. I’m ruined. This is going to destroy me. I don’t see how I can get through this.”

The real and heavy truth is that we may in fact be correct to say and believe these things if we are considering how to deal with the floods in and of ourselves. If we are relying on our strength or ability, we might be correct to despair. Why? Because we are weak, finite, feeble, incapable, and significantly less in control of our lives then we actually think we are.

The Ruler of the storms

Then we come to verse 4. “Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, The Lord on high is mighty” (Psalm 93:4). That, friends, is our great hope. This is our confession. This is why the hymn-writer could say:

“When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood; When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.”

As powerful as the mightiest of waves and floods are, the Lord is mightier. As insurmountable as the greatest difficulties, the Lord rules over them. As great as the deepest pain, suffering, and loss, the Lord is greater still. He has been seated upon His throne for all eternity. We don’t have to fear the roaring of floodwaters. We don’t have to fear antichristian legislation of wicked leaders. We need not worry about what will happen to us in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty. We can be confident though we are surrounded by chaos and calamity. Why? Because the Lord is mightier than it all, and the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe reigns sovereignly over all creation.

Spurgeon had this to say in his commentary on Psalm 93:

“Whatever opposition may arise, His throne is unmoved. He has reigned, does reign, and will reign forever and ever. Whatever turmoil and rebellion there may be beneath the clouds, the eternal King sits above all in supreme serenity. And everywhere He is really Master, let His foes rage as they may. All things are ordered according to His eternal purposes, and His will is done.”

The God who never disappoints

The Psalm closes off with these words: “Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore” (Psalm 93:5). If we serve a God who made and sustains the Universe, a God who is robed in majesty and who has reigned upon His throne for all eternity, who is mightier than the greatest of disasters, and who rules over ever circumstance of pain and suffering, then when THAT God promises something, we can certainly trust Him to keep His Word.

God’s decrees, or His Law, or His commands, or His Word, are completely trustworthy. We can believe God when He says something, and we can rely on God to do what He promises. Afterall, the same storms that rage upon the earth and the same floods that lift up their roaring have been created and are sustained by our King. No situation in life is outside of His sovereign control and His providential ordaining. He is in charge of everything that happens, and there isn’t a single square inch of creation that does not find itself operating according to God’s eternal decree. You can ALWAYS believe God when He speaks.

If you have been following Christ for any amount of time, you know, deep in your soul, that God can be trusted. You know that He has never left you nor failed. In the 24 years since God called me out of darkness into His marvellous light, He has never disappointed me. The Lord has never failed me. Never. And I don’t suspect that He will begin any time soon. God is holy, sinless, and able to keep His promises. You can and should believe He is good and trust Him with everything.

God as King doesn’t mean that life will be easy and painless. It doesn’t mean that the floods won’t lift up and roar, and that they won’t hit you. We will still experience loss and suffering in this life. The glorious news is that He who reigns over the floods is not only in control of creation, and He is not only able to provide for us and sustain us, but He is also stronger and mightier than the greatest evil, the craziest chaos, and the most violent calamity. We can trust God, because He is our King, because His throne has been established, and because He rules over the entire Universe.